Health care providers' perceptions of telemedicine services

To assess the level of consensus among the administrative and health care leaders at rural Iowa hospitals regarding service gaps and priorities for developing telemedicine services.

In the summer of 1994, a survey was conducted of all rural hospital chief executive officers, chiefs of medical staffs, and directors of nursing in Iowa concerning their perceptions of telemedicine services.

With the exception of teleradiology, few clinical specialties received high ratings as areas of need or priorities for the development of telemedicine. There was a general lack of agreement among respondents from the same hospital on such priorities. In contrast, respondents expressed higher priorities for the development of telemedicine-based educational services.

The interest in teleradiology is consistent with the fact that teleradiology has been more thoroughly tested for medical efficacy than other telemedicine applications. Continuing medical education may represent another potential for widespread successful telemedicine application. Financial issues were reported as the greatest barriers to the development of telemedicine systems.